


Object of Obsession

by luvinreallife



Category: Apex Legends (Video Games)
Genre: Be prepared for Revenant Slander., Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Fix-It of Sorts, lobalore
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-04
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-17 03:47:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29835540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luvinreallife/pseuds/luvinreallife
Summary: Killing him would save other children from being scarred for life, and save other families from being destroyed. That was nearly enough to get her to go through with getting rid of the Source Code.Nearly._____Join me, luvinreallife, as I take you on a multi-chapter journey following the meeting between Revenant and Loba in which I give Loba the peace and love she deserves, with the hurt and comfort that I need.
Relationships: Loba Andrade/Bangalore | Anita Williams
Comments: 3
Kudos: 18





	Object of Obsession

**Author's Note:**

> heyyyy. can u guys believe that im evolving. this is so beyond what I normally do. u know me, usually like 2k words in a simple sickfic. now look at me. US. doing chapters now. about other stuff. and omg this probably makes no sense and that's EMBARRASSING because I've been writing this since January. also little known fact about me is that I failed the characterization portion of the drama class i took in school so can we just pretend that the characterization is good.. please.. but hopefully it will get better with the following chapters. hopefully.

Loba didn’t dare take her eyes off of Revenant, even as he was incapacitated on the floor. She wasn’t foolish, and she wasn’t naive; but well aware that now, with his Source Code long gone, nothing was stopping him from killing her.

But, of course, that didn’t stop her from making sure the bastard knew that he would never get to experience what he’d inflicted on so many others: death. 

Despite how pathetic he looked, curled up on the ground, exerted by their fight, he was still intimidating. Loba hated the power he had over her, how easily he could push her into an emotional breakdown. It was effortless for him to make her feel nine years old all over again. 

She barely suppressed a shiver as yellow eyes scrutinized her; the very eyes that have been haunting her dreams all these years. 

Loba did her best to minimize her reactions around Revenant in hopes that he would never know the true impact he had on her. The idea of giving him that pleasure revolted her. 

But, she was not perfect, nor was she a cold, killing machine like him; sometimes she did unintentionally indulge him with a display of humanity: a crack in her voice, a flinch at his sudden movements, or at a graphic recap of her parents’ deaths. But it was important to Loba to not get him too excited, having discovered long ago that he fed off of people’s misery and despair. 

And what better punishment for someone of this nature than to be condemned to a miserable and eternal life sentence. Revenant had been waiting to experience the sweet salvation of death for so long, centuries apparently, that Loba only found it fitting to deny the monster of the one thing he cared about. 

“After all, you have nothing but time.” 

Her emotional turmoil was concealed by long, confident strides toward the exit. She was beyond eager to leave after the argument; tensions between herself and the demon were heavy, uncomfortable. Their animosity would never be fully resolved, not until one of them was dead. 

Not a sound was heard, save for the clicking of her heels that echoed off the walls. And for once, **HE** was quiet, too. Eerily so.

A braid was tossed over her shoulder as she finally looked away from Revenant and back to the world beyond the plaza they were in. 

Loba did not go very far, however; she chose to linger near the building rather than leave. This intense, persistent fear of being followed kept her there. 

The expectation was to watch in disgust as he crawled away, back to whatever corner of Hell he resided. 

Instead, the disgust came from what she heard: he was inside, ranting to himself- or maybe he knew she was there? The mere thought of that was chilling. 

No matter the intended audience, his words brought a lump to her throat as a cold sense of dread washed over her. 

“And when you finally have something that you love with all your heart,” Revenant said menacingly. “I’ll annihilate it and send you into the hell you deserve.”

His threatening speech left her paralyzed; all she could do was listen until it was safe to come out of hiding. 

“Think you know suffering, girl? Just wait.”

Anxiety settled in her stomach at his warning.

Once she saw him climb up onto the side of the building and slither away from the rooftops, Loba found the ability to move. 

She moved to the edge of the floating city to take a minute to attempt to make sense of everything that happened. 

But as she tried to regulate her thoughts, Loba realized that there was something in particular about the threat that stuck out.

_something you love with all your heart_

Tears streamed down her face, knowing that there was just one person that she’d ever love with all her heart. 

Her eyes fell to the endless blue void underneath the city and briefly considered throwing herself into it. 

Death would spare both women the heartbreak of ending their relationship, but she couldn’t do that. She had business to attend to, even if this particular business was going to kill her inside. 

Loba went back towards the city, away from the edge and hopefully far from the fearsome presence of Revenant.

Speaking of the Devil, the fact that he was convinced that Loba was going to euthanize him to save him from his suffering was absurd. His programming must’ve been malfunctioning if he believed that she was going to help him. 

Though her original plan _was_ to personally dispose of him; everything changed when Revenant came crawling to her, claiming that she could end all of this by being his savior. 

With this... unpleasant news came an obligatory change of plans. 

Meaning that for once, Loba Andrade had to settle. 

Settle for keeping the demônio alive to suffer through his never-ending existence. She could never take satisfaction in killing him knowing he would be happy. 

But she wasn’t quite satisfied with the other option, keeping him alive; it was the complete opposite of what she wanted, how she initially wanted to avenge her parents. 

There were a few perks of sending the Source Code to Gridiron: for the first time, Loba felt like she had power over him. She felt decisive, strong, capable. 

But those few nice feelings weren’t enough. Still, she dreamed of what it might be like to be truly rid of him, to finally avenge her parents in the way she wanted to. It would be glorious surely, and bring a little solace to the grieving daughter.

But it was wishful thinking; the fact that Revenant wanted a bullet to the Source Code disgusted her. The thought of him getting what he wanted brought a sour taste to her mouth when she thought about it. 

Loba’s decision left the Simulacrum alive to continue wreaking havoc on The Outlands. Certainly, he was going to get his revenge, and with all of the time in the world to plan it out, his retaliation was going to be very meticulous. He was probably plotting on torturing her and who she cared about right now. 

This realization caused her thoughts to drift to her girlfriend, the woman she cared for most.

And how much Revenant had seen them together.

_girls’ night._  
The bastard’s grating voice rang in her ears. 

If he knew just how intimate the ‘girls’ had gotten, he would target Anita for his retribution.

And endangering the soldier because of her vendetta against Revenant was the last thing Loba wanted to do. She couldn’t handle losing another person she loved, least of all at his hands. 

What other option did she have, besides completely and permanently distancing herself from the other Legend?

Though her heart ached for love, Loba concluded the only choice she had was to resume her title as lone wolf, to resume the life of crime, penthouses, and luxury. 

~~To resume the life of feeling lonely and incomplete while acting confident and whole.~~

The adjustment would be difficult, but the hardest part would be getting used to sleeping alone again. She had become rather used to falling asleep in the strong arms of the woman she’d fallen in love with. 

It was up to Loba to determine if she would go to Bangalore and end things today, or if she would wait for a few days before putting herself through more stress.

____

The sooner it was done, the sooner Anita would be safe and she could stop worrying about her. 

That was what Loba told herself. 

It was almost second nature, going to Anita’s apartment rather than her own, but having to think of break-up lines on the way was unfamiliar. 

Tears obscured her vision when she acknowledged that this would be the last time she visited her.

It wasn’t fair. 

It wasn’t fair that after everything that damn robot had put her through, Loba couldn’t do anything without interference from him. Not even her dreams were a safe space unless she was with Anita, who proved to be rather good somehow at keeping the nightmares at bay. But if she was alone, he was in her bedroom, trying to pressure her into finding his Source Code. 

Her conscience scolded her, screaming that maybe she **should** have killed that fucking thing when she had the chance. 

All of what she’d suppressed for twenty-five years suddenly came crashing down on her like a freight train. After festering deep down inside of her for so long, repressed emotions surfaced in the form of despairing screams and cries. 

Loba sank to the ground, unable to hold herself up any longer. She couldn’t have stopped if she wanted to, not even once it caused her physical pain to continue; this was something she’d been needing to let herself do for a long time. 

And only when the sun began to set did she pick herself up from the cold, hard ground and begin trying to calm herself down before she was to meet with Anita. 

___

It was nightfall by the time Loba arrived at Anita’s front doorstep. She took a deep breath and rested her forehead against the door as she prepared herself to face her girlfriend. 

Who would be her ex-girlfriend by the end of this. 

Her head stayed set against the cold surface of the door for a minute before she finally forced her hand to knock, willing herself to get it over with. 

But she wished to stay, comforted and protected while safely asleep in her lover’s arms. 

The front door opened to reveal a freshly showered Anita, who quickly became horrified by the sight in front of her. The fright on her face made some vein part of Loba wish that she had fixed her makeup before coming here. 

Wasting no time, Anita carefully helped her inside. 

“What the hell happened?” she asked, closing and locking the door. 

Loba shifted her weight nervously, absolutely no desire to talk about Revenant or what happened, and suddenly felt lightheaded when she went to stand normally again. 

Anita noticed how much Loba was struggling to stay upright, so the question was discarded as she led the younger woman to the couch, and eased her down onto it. 

“Just hold tight, Princess,” voice soft and sweet as she spoke in the tone that she used only with Loba. Her kindness made it even harder for the woman to find the words to commit to her plan. “I’ll be right back.” 

With Bangalore out of the room, Loba allowed herself to lean back against the cushions. This position was uncomfortable, for it put pressure on the injuries on her back, but the couch itself was soft and provided enough comfort for her eyes to slip closed. Though it was nowhere near as extravagant as any of the sofas Loba owned, she didn’t mind. Not that she would ever admit it, but ~~Anita’s~~ Bangalore’s simple tastes had grown on her.

The adrenaline from the altercation had been completely worn off for some time, leaving Loba with pain and conflicting feelings. 

____

“Hey-

The sudden noise startled her awake.

“Don’t fall asleep on me.”

“I’m not sleeping,” Loba muttered, cringing internally at the roughness of her voice. She wasn’t sure if it was from the short nap, or her earlier screaming, she just hoped that the other woman wouldn’t pick up on it. 

A tall glass of water was nudged on the table toward her, and instantly extinguished the hope she had of the change in her voice going unnoticed. Promptly ignoring the offering, Loba moved to sit up. She didn’t make any noise to express her discomfort, but her slightly pained grimace was all the soldier needed to set the glass on the table in favor of helping her sit right. 

Anita ran her thumb over a space void of makeup or blood on Loba’s cheek. Rage was slowly building inside of her; she wanted to make whoever did this pay for putting their paws on her lady. 

_Baby browns_ almost closed from the serenity of Anita’s touch but she pulled away before its warmth and comfort could soothe her. 

Bangalore was slightly suspicious of the way Loba removed herself so quickly but said nothing about it. Instead, she mentally assessed the woman before her. Loba would need a change of clothes, to be inspected for other injuries and make sure she doesn’t have any broken ribs or anything. That would come soon, first-

“It’s the demônio...” 

The sudden voice brought the soldier out of her thoughts, her glance shifted to the woman speaking. 

“I didn’t give him the Source Code,” Loba finally met her eyes.

“Good for you. Hope he looks worse than you do,” Bangalore smiled, small and teasing, which was contagious apparently; Loba couldn’t help but smile a little in return. “How are you holding up?” 

“Fine.” 

They stared at each other until Loba spoke again. 

“There’s something else I need to talk to you about.” 

The task of breaking up was going to be painful, maybe more so than the actual bruises and cuts she walked away with. It was going to be hard, but to watch another person she loved die at the hands of the Simulacrum would be unbearable. 

Splitting up was the better option, the only option.

(That’s what she kept telling herself). 

Anita crinkled her brow, silently urging Loba to say whatever it was she had to say, while Loba wished she was here under normal circumstances so that Anita could care for her. She knew how careful the soldier would be, she always was careful with her. Her touch was so gentle, and her kindness was so genuine that it never failed to warm Loba’s heart. 

The first time Anita touched her left her shocked and wanting more. Whoever would have thought that such a big, strong soldier would have such a delicate touch? 

Loba’s mind flooded with memories of the past nights they shared. Anita would untie her braids and play with her hair, press soft kisses anywhere she could reach. Their relationship had become so intimate as they allowed themselves to be vulnerable with each other, something both women were hesitant to do at first. Reminiscing of how far they had come made it so much more difficult for Loba to initiate the breakup. Why did Anita have to be so sweet, so considerate, so loving, so... _her?_

Oh, and how she hated when Loba beat around the bush. 

Those brown eyes were staring at her so expectantly, snapping her out of the trance she was in. 

She just needed to say it, so this could be finished and over with. 

Because when this was over, Loba could go back to only caring for herself. And only endangering herself, which was fine. What mattered was Bangalore’s safety. 

“We have to end this.” 

“What?” Anita felt her stomach sink. 

“Don’t make me say it again,” Loba whispered, tears threatening to spill down her cheeks when she saw Anita’s heartbroken expression. 

The pause was agonizingly long for both women. Once she could swallow past the lump in her throat enough to speak, Bangalore asked the question that was burning in her mind. 

“What changed, Loba?” her voice but a whisper of insecurity. The tough-girl soldier act had officially melted away, leaving a very vulnerable Anita in its place. 

Loba hated how she nearly shivered at the way her name sounded coming out of Anita’s mouth. She wondered if she should just leave with no explanation for her actions and never look back. 

But, her sweet Anita deserved a reason for the sudden decision. 

What she deserved was someone better, better than Loba thought she could ever give or be. She deserved someone who wouldn’t be putting her in active danger by loving her. And she looked so absolutely crushed right now that it hurt Loba’s chest. 

“I overheard the demon,” she explained sadly. “He’s... he’s waiting for me to love something with all of my heart so he can take it from me.” 

_Of course, of fucking course Revenant was behind this,_ Anita thought. Oh, she could kill him. 

**EVERY. COPY.**

Anita opened her mouth to respond, but Loba didn’t want to hear, in fear that she might stay because of it. 

“If he knew how I felt about you, he would kill you. I won’t drag you into my mess again,” she shook her head. “I can’t.” 

Loba stood up to leave since what she had come for was done. She had to get going, knowing if she didn’t leave now then there would be a lot more talking to do. And it currently hurt to do so. 

“Hold up.” 

Loba stepped past her. 

In a familiar circumstance, Anita’s hand gently grabbed her wrist, “Don’t go,” she begged, pride long forgotten, “please.” 

“I have to,” Loba said. 

It was not like this was easy for her; she loved Annie dearly, maybe even with all her heart, which was terrifying in itself, but with the demon’s threat on the table, she couldn’t take the chance. 

“I don’t want you to leave,” Anita admitted meekly.

“And _I_ don’t want you dying at the hands of the demônio.”

“Like he’d get the chance.” She rolled her eyes. “We’ll win this thing together.” 

(Evidently, she’d found her pride). 

“Win?” Loba scoffed. What was this woman on about? Winning? As if that was an option. “We can’t _win,_ Anita.” 

It was obvious that she was trying to be rude, but the soldier only cared about the exhaustion and the defeat she heard laced in her voice. 

“Would you let me have a say in this?” Bangalore didn’t like not being given a choice. Especially for something big like this. 

Loba stood still, shocked by the response. What she said was rather... interesting. Did she want a say? A say in what? The funeral plans for when Revenant killed her? 

As if she read her mind, Bangalore continued before Loba could say no. 

“Don’t listen to him, alright? He’s messing with your head,” she reasoned softly. “I’ve got your back.” 

Anita was signing her death warrant, quite literally was putting her name on Revenant’s hit list if she went through with this. Loba couldn’t let her do that. Though she wanted to, of course; she wanted nothing more than to have the woman on her side forever.

She shook her head, “I can’t let you. He-“

“My mind’s not changing, Loba.” 

Anita’s directness was one of the first things Loba noticed about the soldier, it was both attractive and infuriating at the same time. 

They held each other’s gaze for a long time, neither daring nor wanting to break eye contact. 

Loba studied Bangalore so carefully that it made her shift uncomfortably; her gaze was unwavering, intense, and only added to the anxiousness and vulnerability Anita was feeling. Her heart was pounding. All she wanted to do was to be there for Loba, to make everything better and eliminate the beast trying to keep them apart.

Loba still watched her with slightly furrowed eyebrows. Anita couldn’t tell what she was thinking, which made her heart race faster. She did not want to experience life without Loba ever again, no matter how much they got on each other’s nerves. 

This speechless pause was so long and insufferable that Bangalore had to break the silence. 

“What do you say, Princess?” she held out one hand as a proposal of sorts, but it was also a plea for her to stay.

Loba wanted to say yes, naturally; how could one not want to be supported by this tall, strong beauty? 

But she knew it wasn’t right to put Bangalore at risk. Loba wanted to do at least _one_ good thing in this whole Revenant situation. So, she decided to honor her plan and get the hell out of here. 

...

Well, that was what she was going to do. 

Until her hand accidentally slipped straight into Anita’s and gave it a little reassuring squeeze. 

“Fine,” Loba huffed, feigning annoyance. She had grown tired of arguing, anyway. 

Anita agreeing to be with her actually brought a great deal of comfort. She was strong and knew how to use big guns, and just so happened to be the most chivalrous and caring person that Loba knew. The thought of leaving her behind for them both to live separate lives broke her heart. 

“But I’m not sure it’s the life you want.” 

The admission was heart-wrenching; Bangalore was saddened by Loba’s uncertainty. 

“You are the life I want.” 

This rendered her speechless. Yes, Loba _hoped_ that Anita would disagree with the concept of ending their relationship. She even had half a mind to expect it, but what was just said completely exceeded her expectations and brought fresh tears to her eyes. 

She supposed that Annie hadn’t been given much of a choice earlier and that that wasn’t fair to her. But she was so relieved that Anita was willing to come to her defense. Truth be told, Loba was scared to be without her. And she was tired of running. Running from love, from happiness, from the potential hurt of getting too close to someone.

“I love you. I just want you safe. _Fuck,_ I... I just want you.” Anita’s tears finally spilled over with the heartfelt confession. She would fight every Revenant on every planet to keep Loba safe and to be able to be with her. Bangalore couldn’t nor did she want to imagine life without her girlfriend.

Loba let the tears overcome her, though she didn’t think her body could produce any more tears. The break-up plan did not go accordingly, which was comforting, yet daunting. 

Needless to say, Loba took solace in knowing that Anita was going to be there with her. She might even dare to say it was empowering. The fear came from the inevitable danger that was Revenant. Now, they were both at risk of dying at his hands. But, Bangalore would die trying to convince Loba that it didn’t matter, and if she was going to fight for their relationship like this, then she supposed that there was nothing she could do. 

Anita was not sure what to do. She ached to reach out and wrap the lone wolf up in a tight hug. She wanted to kiss her, stop all of the tears, and make all of her pain a distant memory because hearing her cry like this hurt. But she didn’t know if Loba wanted to be embraced right now, and was partly scared that she would break if touched too firmly. 

Until Loba shifted forward and clung to Anita like a lifeline. 

“I’m sorry,” she choked on tears and her words. “I love you. I want you to be safe, too.” 

“It’s okay baby,” Anita cooed, returning the hug with her own fervor, still keeping her girlfriend’s injuries in mind. “Thanks for thinking of me. But I can handle myself.” 

“I know you can, but...” 

If Anita was breathing any louder, she probably wouldn’t be able to hear Loba’s quiet confession. 

“I’m still scared to lose you.” The words left her mouth hesitantly. 

“I’m not going anywhere. Promise.” _Not without a fight,_ the older woman thought to herself as she sat them down on the couch. 

No response came from the woman in her arms. 

They stayed cuddled closely together on the sofa until her cries turned into intermittent sniffles. That was when Anita pulled back from the embrace and carefully wiped the evidence of emotional pain from Loba’s face before kissing her, pouring emotions into it that she didn’t know how to vocalize. 

“Now let’s get this blood off you.” Anita took Loba into her arms and over to the bathroom, setting her down onto the counter. 

“Can I see?” she asked, one hand rested on Loba’s upper arm, the other was waiting for permission on her back. 

She nodded, stiffening when the cold air hit her skin as the jacket and corset were slowly peeled off of her.

Cuts and bruises were laid across her arms, back, and chest. Fortunately, none were deep enough for stitches, which provided Bangalore with a bit of relief, but the thought of how much worse she would look tomorrow made her stomach hurt. 

When the cuts were cleaned and carefully covered with bandages, they shared a kiss. Soft, passionate, everything they both needed after the day’s events until Loba pulled away. 

“Thank you.” 

_For everything._

“Don’t mention it,” Anita said genuinely. 

Having this ex-IMC soldier, familiar with heavy artillery and close combat at her side was relieving. It made the lone wolf feel the least alone she’d felt since she was nine. It made her feel hopeful like maybe she could do this. 

Like _they_ could do this. Together. There’s safety in numbers, of course.

Not to mention that she was not nine years old anymore; Loba was now a grown woman, who learned long ago how to sharpen her claws, who could fight back. 

She was brought back to reality when something soft fell into her lap. She hadn’t even noticed that Anita had left to get clothes for her. 

“Want something for the pain?” Anita asked.

Loba shook her head. She didn’t need it. 

“You okay?” 

_'I’m fine'_ was her automatic response to a question like that. Though she didn’t want to lie to her girlfriend, she didn’t want to talk about her emotions. The conversation would also likely lead to a discussion about the demon, which was unwelcome. 

“I don’t know.”

Anita kissed her forehead, deciding to not pressure her into talking anymore, not today, at least. Right now, Loba needed to rest. “You will be.” 

With that, she left the bathroom to give her girlfriend privacy to change. 

Loba finished undressing and replaced her outfit with the clean, oversized clothes Anita brought out for her. 

She walked back out to the living room and sat down on the edge of the couch. 

The soldier came back with a fresh glass of water and handed it to her, smiling softly as she watched her delicate sips. 

“Thanks,” Loba muttered and placed it onto the coffee table. 

Anita sat down on the couch beside Loba and turned on the TV for background noise. It was only a minute before Loba was in her arms, face resting in the crook of her neck. It was so natural how Anita began stroking her back as if she had already been doing so. 

She continued her hand movements until Loba fell asleep, which, to the surprise of no-one, didn’t take long. Poor thing was utterly exhausted after the long day and emotional roller coaster she had been on. 

____

She couldn’t get it out of her head. 

The images of her mother, dead on the floor. 

Of her father’s lifeless body at the bottom of the elevator shaft. 

Of the demônio.

And all of the copies of him. 

_Of the seven feet of bone-thin simulacrum towering above her._

Loba woke to gasp for breath, jolting awake and jostling the injuries she’d sustained the previous day. The noise caught in her throat as she realized she was in Anita’s bed. Hoping that the sudden movement didn’t wake up her lover, she lifted her head from the pillow and looked behind her-

to see an empty space. 

What if something bad happened to her? What if _HE_ did something to her? 

Covers were thrown aside as she got up, much too fast for having just been in a fight the day before. (She definitely should have taken Anita up on the offered pain medicine last night). Her heart was hammering in her chest as she padded to the kitchen. Relief had never flooded her system so fast than now: at the sight of Anita, alive and well, sat at one of the two barstools in front of the island. Though all the curtains were closed, Loba knew it was morning by the cup of coffee in her hand. 

“Morning,” the beautiful soldier called from her seat, looking up to make eye contact. 

“Good morning, Anita,” Loba smiled at the sight of her beloved woman safe and sound. 

Anita mirrored her grin, but it faded quickly as her eyes continued to study her. She was easy to read: despite the smile, she looked nervous, shaken up. Cold sweat-ish, like she had a bad dream. 

“You know that I have nightmares,” Loba sighed, answering the question that had yet to be asked. She could see Anita processing her appearance, the gears in her head turning, the question on her lips forming. 

Anita laughed quietly and stood up, “I didn’t say anything,” she walked over to Loba and wrapped her arms around her waist. “I won’t force you to talk. But if you need to, I’m here,” she placed a soft kiss on the top of her head. 

Over a small breakfast, courtesy of Anita, they discussed it all, from past traumas to current, from their nightmares to their dreams. Loba could likely never express just how much she treasured their heartfelt conversations. 

She excused herself to the bathroom for some privacy while she cried. 

The tears soon abated, and Loba reluctantly looked in the mirror. Normally, she could take pleasure in seeing her appearance, but lately, it was hard to when there was this... ~~childish~~ fear of seeing Revenant behind her. 

Still sitting at the table, Anita smiled to herself. She cherished those types of talks, and though Loba didn’t vocalize it, she knew she felt the same. 

A glance in the mirror revealed her bare face, the makeup remnants of yesterday gone. Anita must have done it when she fell asleep last night.

She proceeded to get ready, as ready as she could for not having her usual vast amount of products and items. Meaning no makeup and a very limited selection of outfits. At least their relationship had been serious enough for Anita to have a spare toothbrush for Loba. 

After she felt presentable, the thief took to Anita’s closet, silently ~~judging~~ observing her taste in clothes. 

She stepped back out into the living room to put on her heels, and as she went to leave, Anita stopped her. 

“Got somewhere to be?” 

“I do,” Loba said. “But I won’t be long.” 

“I don’t want you going off by yourself,” Anita did not keep the concern from her voice. 

Loba barely contained an eye roll, only because her girlfriend’s worry was touching. “I’m a big girl, Annie. I can take care of myself.” The promise did little to calm Anita’s nerves. “I’ll be back.” With the literal and familiar flash, she was gone. 

Left alone in the apartment, Anita rolled her eyes. _Damn it, Loba. Woman either doesn’t know how to care for herself, or just doesn’t care enough to do it._

Loba didn’t look back. She did have somewhere to be. 

There was respect to be paid.


End file.
